Human rights activist Boniface Mulinge Muteti has been found alive after four days missing and is receiving treatment at a hospital in Mlolongo.
Muteti was found in the Machakos County, Lukenya area in the early hours of today Friday, according to Hussein Khalid, the chief executive of Vocal Africa.
Khalid said Muteti was reportedly left in the area at about 3am. He then walked a long distance before reaching a petrol station, where a stranger helped him use a phone to contact his brother.
“He is disoriented, weak and injured,” Khalid said.
Muteti was later taken to hospital in the Mlolongo area, where he is receiving treatment. His family, friends and fellow activists were also heading to the facility after learning that he had been found.
Muteti had been missing since Monday
Muteti had been reported missing since September 21, after taking part in demonstrations in Nairobi calling for the release of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
According to reports filed before he was found, Muteti had left fellow activists in Nairobi’s Central Business District to print a petition. He later told people close to him that he had been arrested before his phone became unreachable.
His disappearance prompted his family and human rights groups to seek information about his whereabouts.
Court petition sought answers
The search for Muteti had also reached the courts.
On Thursday, activist Francis Awino filed an application at the Milimani Law Courts seeking orders requiring Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations Mohammed Amin to account for Muteti’s whereabouts.
The application sought information on whether Muteti had been arrested or held in custody and asked authorities to provide records relating to his alleged arrest, detention, transfer or release.
Police custody claims remain unresolved
Activists had alleged that Muteti was arrested during the demonstrations. Police, however, had not publicly confirmed that he was in their custody, according to Citizen Digital.
With Muteti now found, questions remain about where he had been since his disappearance, how he ended up in Lukenya and who left him there.
The extent of his injuries and further details of what happened to him had not been publicly established as of Friday.
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